Did the Football Association really apologize for its sexism and homophobia?

Recently, fans of the women’s game gathered in Regents Park to honor Lily Parr, the first woman inducted to the National Football Museum Hall of Fame. Parr was an amazing character, from an incredible time in the history of women’s football in the U.K. Renown for her athleticism and skill, she was a celebrity in the late teens and twenties, and was directly impacted by the 1921 FA ban that barred women from FA pitches and forbid FA members from refereeing or working as linesmen during women’s games.

The Guardian reported on an FA statement issued in relation to the Parr Trophy match — which was not, as far as I can tell, sponsored by the FA in any way. The newspaper story, “FA Apologies for 1921 Ban“, offers no direct quotes from an FA statement, raising the question: Was it really an apology?

The Lily Parr Exhibition Trophy Match was part of Gay & Lesbian History Month – it was played between the London Lesbian Kickabouts and Arc-En-Ciel, a Parisian lesbian football team – recreating in spirit the first international women’s game played between England and France. The fact that this celebration of Parr was a part of Lesbian & Gay History month – and that the two teams which played are lesbian feminist teams was not mentioned in Tony Leighton’s telegraphic story (was anyone from The Guardian’s staff there?). I suppose we should be grateful there was any mention of that match, of Lily Parr, and of the rest of action in the women’s game this week in the four paragraph story. But is it really journalism if it’s reporting final scores, and recycling press releases?

“Lucy Faulkner, Equality Manager at The Football Association said ‘In 1921 The FA requested that clubs belonging to the Association should refuse the use of their grounds for matches played by women with the purpose of raising charitable funds. Furthermore, they stated that ‘the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged’.

“The damage this did to the women’s game is hard to calculate but I am confident that with the support and investment of The FA in women’s football in 2008, the sport will continue to go from strength to strength.’”

There’s another statement on the Kickabout site from Trevor Brooking, director of development at the FA about the growing strength of the women’s game.

The Kickabouts quite rightly list this not as an “apology”, but as a “response”. A response from the Equality Manager is not an apology from the FA Board.

Maybe something went down at that game that has yet to surface in the blogs, like:

“FA Board members attend LGBT celebration of legendary athlete Lily Parr, and apologize for the sexism and homophobia that continue to dominate football culture. Vow to change their own attitudes, to give the FA’s full support to its women players — and kick homophobia out of the men’s game while they are at it.”

11 Responses to "Did the Football Association really apologize for its sexism and homophobia?"

Here in the states, I have rarely run across open homophobia in the soccer community, and the women’s game seems to get more attention here than it does elsewhere. Perhaps this is one of a certainly tiny number of advantages to soccer’s having been a niche sport in America for so long.

Ursus: No kidding! Justin Fashanu’s story is fascinating. One I hope to write about in the next few months. How incredible that people think it’s OK to declare their homophobia and “disgust”. I think people don’t realize how very much women’s football is impacted by both sexism and homophobia – for whatever reasons, attitudes about women’s team sports are very much inflected with both. The Guardian’s silence about the real story behind the Parr trophy only helps make people feel like their “disgust” or, at best, begrudging tolerance (“having said that…”) is OK.

Hopefully to clarify how the Press Statement arose, I, and another player, on behalf of, LLKA and the Lily Parr Exhibition Trophy Organisers asked the FA specifically to acknowledge Lily Parr’s contribution to the game as well as those earlier generations of women hit by the ban. This year it will be 30 years since Lily died and we were organising the Trophy in her name for Lesbian and Gay History Month.

We also asked them whether they wished to comment on the existence of the ban and how that fitted in with them now being responsible for the women’s game.

That press statement was their response and that is why Trevor Brooking’s statement, (which was issued as part of the overall statement) refers to Lily Parr. …”Many of these will be young girls and we are aiming to train the next generation of women like Lily Parr – fit and skilful players respected for their footballing ability.” (Incidentally, we made the same request of Newcastle United in relation to their role in bringing the ban. Maybe we’ll get something from them by next year’s trophy game when there Press Office is not so busy).

The most postive aspect of the day for us was the number of young women who got involved in researching the ban and Lily Parr’s life – the exhibition is likely to go to Paris now, where the French team want to display it and hopefully add to it. Obviously, these are (mainly young but some not so young) women football players – not historians, not academics – trying to make their own sense of what happened during that period and that is important.

The “Lily Parr Song” which was written and performed for this event is shown below :

It’s irreverent, a bit mad, funny but most importantly, full of life. How we imagine Lily would have been. Some of the most exuberant performers in that clip are from the Paris Arc En Ciel – and considering they were earlier beaten 4-1, I think their obvious spirit says everything about how the day went.

In terms of LGBT History Month, we achieved more than we had hoped. The enthusiasm of the players and spectators to embrace the theme of the day was remarkable. Both the French and LLKA teams engaged fully in trying to gain their own proper understanding of that time. It is not every day that lesbian football players or women players in general, find a role model that they can truely connect with. And the fact that they did is evident from the video alone.

A compelling article that, cheers. What I would say regards women’s sport and the way they are represented and reported in the media reflects the fact the majority of reporters are still male and it’s, without doubt, a male-oriented industry still. I think certain strides have been made recently (in the UK at least) with female reporters, presenters etc but more needs to be done if women’s sport is to be taken seriously and not affected by the stigmas attached. We have to remember men’s football remains a very homophobic sport for a variety reasons too so it’s more a reflection of society’s attitude to the game in general and not just directed at the women’s game. The same prejudices appear to apply across the board still.

Thank you for drawing attention to this in a great post. I am one of those readers who swallowed the Guardian’s story whole when they first came across it, and actually thought no more than it was a fairly decent thing for the FA to do — it’s brilliant to get the whole picture.

Thank you Andrea Storey for the details on how the FA statement came about. It is an example of how some spirited lovers of the game can, step by step, make things better for everyone. It is the kind of thing that will, hopefully, make a more meaningful statement – and apology – from the leaders of the FA one day possible. I will post that youtube Lily Parr song video on my website. What fun!

And for other readers commenting on homophobia on the men’s game, and the women’s game – it’s a tough issue, but women who play team sports find themselves entangled in attitudes about femininity in ways that men don’t – to play a sport – to play it well, with passion & joy, and with aggression & the will to win, too – really does break form with traditional notions about femininity – something a lot of British women players from different backgrounds have to deal with. Guys in their long muddy socks, shorts and t-shirts on the tube don’t draw stares or homophobic remarks – they look like “regular guys”. Women athletes – and especially women soccer players (even in the US but not nearly to the degree as elsewhere) – have to contend with the attitudes of their families (note the plot regarding this on Bend it Like Beckham), friends, and strangers. Women athletes challenge the status quo – this is what Lily Parr and her teamates did on and off the field. This is, perhaps, subject for another post.

Three cheers to LLKA for prodding the FA, and inviting them to participate in the Lily Parr Exhibition Trophy event.

Jason, are you being serious? A wrong way of life?…says who, God? ok, well if god himself comes down and tells me to hate gays, maybe i’ll consider it…but until that day, what difference does it make to you? Go back to your brainwashed shell, and in the meantime…grow-up (if that is at all possible)…besides, you know they say that the ones who are the most homophobic are the ones you have to suspect first (not that there’s anything wrong with being gay)…sort of like those damn catholic priests…

[...] article also reports the FA are currently reviewing the future of the women’s game. Given the historical debt the F.A. owes the women’s game, let’s hope it really comes up with a solid plan and funding to develop a more competitive [...]